#XC Runs at NCAA South Regional on Friday

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- The North Florida cross country teams will run in the NCAA South Regional meet Friday morning at the Apalachee Regional Park cross country course.

Florida State is hosting the regional meet with the women's 6k race slated to start at 9 a.m. with the men's 8k set to begin at 10 a.m.

"It has been a very good season for the growth and development of our program," said head coach Jeff Pigg. "This is the final opportunity to put another solid performance on the board against all of the South region schools. The rankings are nice, but head to head against some very good programs is a very exciting opportunity."

The UNF men's team enters Friday's race listed eighth in the latest USTFCCCA South Region rankings. All-Atlantic Sun runners Michael Damato and Tyler Bennett will lead the lineup that will also include Justin Bryan, Jeremy Bryan, Brad Hort, Jacob Fuller and Tyler Stahl.

"Damato and Bennett have practiced well and look forward to building on their strong performances from two weeks ago," Pigg stated. "These two guys have run well all season and are hungry to race again in a higly competitive event. We are going to hold freshman phenom Nick Morken out of the meet as he's been struggling with some health issues the last few weeks. This is a tough decision for both he and I, but it is what is best for him and that is the priority. Our hope and belief is that the rest of our top runners will continue to progress and finish off the season on a high note. Brad Hort, Justin and Jeremy Bryan, Jacob Fuller and freshman Tyler Stahl will be running because each team is limited to just seven runners. These guys have prepared well and competed hard and I believe will see that work and dedication pay off with very good races. As a freshman, Tyler is getting a very good opportunity to experience the regional race which will be very valuable for him in the future."

The No. 8-ranked Osprey women's squad looked to build on their runner-up finish at the Atlantic Sun championship. The strength all season has been a tight pack at the top of the lineup. The seven runners representing UNF at the regional will be All-ASun performers Eden Meyer, Alessandra Valdes, Elle Baker, Andelka Tancic and Alexis Irwin along with senior Alyssa Brandt and junior Lauren Gonzalez.

"Our women's team is coming off of a very competitive effort at the conference meet," added Pigg. "It was by far their strongest performance of the season and we hope to continue to show improvement though regionals. Our women were not ranked in the top 15 most of the year, but this is when we can show where we really belong. Seniors Andelka Tancic and Elle Baker have been running very well and are really looking forward to their final cross country race. Ale Valdez and freshman Eden Meyer are also coming off of fantastic performances at the A-Sun championship and are anxious to race again. Junior Alexis Irwin ran a breakthrough race two weeks ago and she is also really looking forward to getting back on the course. Senior Alyssa Brandt will be competing in her last race for UNF, as she will do her student teaching in the spring. She has worked hard this fall and was our number one runner last year at regionals so I expect her to run very well in her final race. Lauren Gonzales has progressed thoughtout the season after getting off to a slow start, but she is rounding into the top of her game now."

The top two finishing teams and top four individual runners not on an advancing team will qualify for the NCAA Championship meet on Nov. 22 in Terra Haute, Ind.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Elle Baker

Tyler Bennett

Alyssa Brandt

Jeremy Bryan

Justin Bryan

Michael Damato

Jacob Fuller

Lauren Gonzalez

Brad Hort

Alexis Irwin

Eden Meyer

Nick Morken

Tyler Stahl

Andelka Tancic

Alessandra Valdes

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